BASKETBALL MANIA AT JAWAHAR NAVODAYA VIDYALAYA, YENIGADALE

Twelve of us from Sumpoorna landed in Yenigadale at 10a.m. Within half an hour we were on the basketball court [they have two courts] with around 80 children willing to learn THE GAME.

A demo game by sumpoornites raised the normal thought in every new student - I CAN DO BETTER. Of course, when they were given their first dribbling lessons, they realised that what seemed so simple wasn't so. First day it was a combination of dribbling and passing lessons and then it happened - THEY WANTED TO PLAY A MATCH!

What is it about basketball matches that makes ROOKIES think they can fly like Michael Jordan - I wonder! Arms flinging in all directions, all the nine players trying to snatch the ball from the `one in possession' [irrespective of which team he or she is]. I have seen this hundreds of times and wonder what `motivates' them to GO FOR THE BALL.

The second day was an `action' packed day with variables in dribbling and passing. Late in the afternoon when LAY-UPS elementary lessons became a little boring - the chant of `matches - matches' reached my ears. SUMPOORNITES who eat, drink and sleep basketball too joined in. What could I then do.

MATCHES CREATE THAT RAPID LEARNING WHICH ONE CANNOT GET EVEN IN ONE YEAR OF BASKETBALL COACHING. Evening session began with inter-house boys' and girls' matches. The will to win for the house created more excitement. Fouls were rewarded with minus points and that calmed the things a little bit. If two fouls were committed for one basket scored by the same team - the score was ZERO.

The third day - the match veterans that our new basketball players had become saw the toughest battles. TRAVELLING violation became lesser and lesser - PASSING BECAME THE KEY - and one long distance shot that went through the hoop brought the house down. A basketball player with the ball is always two feet taller than his normal height - his gait at least suggests it.

Then, before we knew it, it was time to say GOOD BYE. The sumpoornites were mobbed with shake-hands, high fives, pats on the back and little sorrow that BYE BYE brings with it.